Improvement in presses for pressing rolled tobacco



- UNITED STATES PATENT 4 GFEICE.

JAMES T. BOWMAN, OF PATTONSBURG, VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEMENT iN PRESSES FOR PRESSING ROLLED TOBACCO.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 257, dated July 5, 1837.

llo til whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs T. BOWMAN, of Pattonsburg, in the county of Botetourt and State of Virginia, have invented an improved press for the purpose of pressing rolled tobacco preparatory to its being packed in boxes, and which press may also be used for the pressing of tobacco without its previously undergoing the process of rolling; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

The frame of this press may consist of four corner-posts of timber, A A, united together by suitable longitudinal and cross ties.

B B are cheek or side pieces extending the whole length of the press, and firmly mortised-into the corner-posts. They are grooved 'on their insides, as shown at a a a, to receive the sliding partitions b b b, which pass up, and down 4in the grooves freely, and when forced completely up are flush with the top edge of the'cheeks BB, forming a number of rectangular cells or receptacles,within which the to* bacco is to be pressed. The bottoms of these cells consist of strong strips or pieces of wood firmly attached to the cheeks B Bin the situation shown by the dotted lines c c c. These lill the spaces between the grooves a a a, there being a slot or opening between each strip forf the passage of the sliding partitions. The sliding partitions are affixed to aI plank, G C, by their lower` ends.

D is a lever having its fulcrum at E, and

connected to the plank C C by the shacklebar or joint-piece F. By means of this arrangement the sliding partitions are all simultaneouslyraisedandlowered. Whenlowered, their upper edges are flush with the upp'er sides of the strips which form the bottoms of the cells.

G is the cap or upper part of the press, containing the nut in which the screw II Works in the usual manner.4 Y

I is a platen or follower extending the whole length and width of the press, so as to cover all the cells.- y

When the press is to be used', the platen G is raised, so as 'to be out of the way in the preparatory operations. The partition-pieces are also forced up by means ofthe lever D, so that they are flush with the tops of the cheeks B B. The cells are then ready to receive the pound-rolls or other tobacco to be pressed. NVhen they have been duly charged therewith by pressing it below the surface of each cell, blocks of wood fitting into each cell are placed upon it, these blocks constituting separate followers by which each portion is to be pressed. The main follower or platen I is then brought down by means of the screw H with the required degree of force. This Vhaving been done, the platen is raised and the partitionpieces lowered by means of the lever D until they are iiush with the strips constituting the bottoms of the cells, when the pressed tobacco is removed and the process recommenced.

What I claim as my invention, and desire Y to secure by Letters Patent, is--lA The construction of a press for pressing `tobacco, made and operating substantially in the manner of that herein describedthat is to say, having sliding partitions which can be raised, so as to form separate cells for the reception of the tobacco, and withdrawn for its removal after it has been pressed in the way set forth.

JAMES T. BOWMAN. lVitnesses:

E. SWEETLAND, SAMUEL W. WEIsIGER. 

